The Cleveland Browns were blown out 34-10 to the Detroit Lions on Sunday, falling to 1-3 and raising questions about a potential quarterback change from veteran Joe Flacco to one of the team’s rookies, Dillon Gabriel or Shedeur Sanders.
Last week, Sanders made it clear that he’s ready to play and believes he could outperform some current NFL starters.
“If you see the quarterback play in the NFL right now, I know I’m capable of doing better than that,” Sanders said.
On Monday, former NFL head coach Rex Ryan, who appears weekly on ESPN’s “Get Up,” didn’t hold back on Sanders, calling him “an embarrassment.”
“This kid talks and he runs his mouth,” Ryan said on Monday. “Like he said, ‘I can be a starting quarterback’ with his arms crossed like this. Get your [expletive] in the front row and study and do all that. If I know, the whole league knows. Quit being an embarrassment that way. You’ve got the talent to be the quarterback, you should be. You should be embarrassed that you’re not the quarterback now.”
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After a stellar career playing under his father Deion Sanders at Jackson State for two years and then at Colorado for two more seasons, Shedeur was expected to be a first-round pick. However, he experienced one of the most dramatic draft-day slides in recent memory, falling all the way to the fifth round.
Sanders had performed well enough in training camp and the preseason to earn a spot among the top three quarterbacks on Cleveland’s depth chart. Despite that, it still seems unlikely he’ll see significant playing time anytime soon, as Gabriel would seemingly get the first crack at starting should the Browns go with a QB switch.
Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski addressed Sanders’ comments with a measured response, emphasizing preparation and accountability for all quarterbacks on the roster.
“All of our guys feel like they’re ready,” Stefanski said. “And they’re working very hard at it. We do a lot of work with our players—rookies, vets, all our guys—spending every available minute we have with them, getting them ready physically and mentally. Whether it’s in the weight room, the meeting room, or on the field, all our guys are working very hard.”
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